南海石斑鱼苗种肠道微孢子虫病病原的鉴定

研究通过组织病理分析、超微结构观察以及分子特征分析对石斑鱼(Epinephelus spp.)苗种肠道微孢子虫病病原进行了鉴定。其为一肠孢虫属新种,命名为石斑鱼肠孢虫(Enterospora epinepheli sp.n.),专性寄生于细胞核内,发育过程与肠孢虫属模式种黄道蟹肠孢虫(Enterospora canceri)一致。早期单核裂殖体通过一层简单的电子薄膜与宿主细胞核质隔离。随后,单核裂殖体发育形成多核裂殖原质团。此时,细胞核出现明显肥大,有的甚至被裂殖子胀破。裂殖原质团进一步发育形成多核产孢体,并开始出现许多高电子密度的囊泡状结构。这些与极丝及锚状盘有关的囊泡状结构聚集在藕核周围,并组装形成微孢子虫特征性结构(挤出装置)前体。随后,产孢体原生质团通过连续分裂形成一个个孢子母细胞。孢子母细胞与细胞核直接接触,并直接发育形成成熟孢子。成熟孢子椭圆形,孢子长(1.56±0.31)μm(1.07—1.96μm),宽(1.08±0.98)μm(0.93—1.28μm)。孢壁分为3层,外壁电子密度高,厚(15.51±0.95)nm(9.87—26.18 nm),内壁为电子透明层,较外层更厚(81.13±2.71)nm(57.16—110.81 nm),最里面为孢质膜。极丝为同型极丝,共5—6圈,分2排排列。组织病理学分析发现该微孢子虫寄生于肠道上皮杯状细胞核内,肠壁脱落的内容物中也发现大量的微孢子虫。序列比对发现该种与之前报道的石斑鱼肠道微孢子虫待定种(Microsporidium sp.)序列基本一致,与其他相似性较高的种类的遗传距离在0.162—0.225。系统发育关系分析显示肠胞虫科的种类明显分为两支,石斑鱼肠孢虫和肠孢虫属其他种类及毕氏肠胞虫聚为一个独立分支,但不与该分枝中任何种类形成姊妹支。

Ontogenetic development in the morphology and behavior of loach(Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) during early life stages

Loach （Misgurnus anguillicaudatus） is a commercially important fish in China and an ideal aquaculture species. However, culturists experience high larval and juvenile mortality during mass production. To provide insight into ways to improve larviculture techniques, we describe the morphological characteristics and behavior of loach during the larval and early juvenile stages. Yolksae larvae ranged from 2.8 to 4.0 mm body length （BL） between days 0 to 4; preflexion larvae ranged from 3.6 to 5.5 mm BL between days 4 to 6; flexion larvae ranged from 4.8 to 8.1 mm BL between days 5 and 14; and post-flexion larvae ranged from 7. l to 15.7 mm BL between days 11 to 27; the minimum length and age of juveniles was 14.1 mm BL and 23 d, respectively. Loach are demersal from hatch through to the early juvenile stages. A suite of morphological characteristics （e.g., external gill filament and ventral mouth opening） and behavioral traits have developed to adapt to demersal living. We observed positive allometric growth in eye diameter, head length, head height, and pectoral fin length during the early larval stages, reflecting the priorities in the development of the organs essential for survival. Our results provide a basis for developing techniques to improve the survival of larval and juvenile loach during mass production.

Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity patterns reveal different processes shaping river fish assemblages in the Eastern Huai River Basin, China

Understanding contributions of different environmental drivers to the structure and function of river biota is critical for biodiversity and environmental conservation.Yet,there is no consensus on which drivers have the greatest impact on fish diversity,especially in watersheds disturbed by multiple human activities.Fish taxonomic,phylogenetic,and functional diversity at both alpha and beta dimensions and their environmental drivers were studied in a total of 84 river sites from three watersheds,Huai River watershed(HRW),Sui River watershed(SRW),and Yishusi River watershed(YRW)in the Eastern Huai River Basin of China.Results showed that rivers in the three watersheds had no significant difference in both taxonomic and functional alpha diversity.Rivers in the HRW had significantly higher phylogenetic alpha diversity.For taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity,the overall beta diversity and turnover component were significant higher in the HRW.For functional beta diversity,the overall beta diversity was significantly lower in the HRW.Multiple linear regression(MLR)and redundancy analysis(RDA)showed that local(e.g.,nutrients,dissolved oxygen,river width,transparency),regional(e.g.,wetland),climate(e.g.,temperature),and spatial variables structured alpha and beta fish diversity.Variation partitioning analysis indicated that the pure contributions of local and spatial variables were more important than that of climate and regional variables,which suggested that spatial effects and local environmental filtering were the main factors driving the beta diversity of fish assemblages in these rivers.The current study highlights the importance of considering multidimensional diversity and multiple environmental factors for conserving river fishes.

Fish diversity reduction and assemblage structure homogenization in lakes:A case study on unselective fishing in China

Unselective fishing involves activities that target the entire assemblage rather than specific fish species,size classes,or trophic levels.This common fishing approach has been in practice for decades in inland waters in China but its implications for biodiversity remain unclear.We addressed this issue by studying fish assemblages in freshwater lakes(five fishing lakes,one reference lake,and a total of 51 sampling sites)between pre-and postfishing time-periods in Eastern China during 2017–2019.The effects of lake,fishing period,and their interactions on fish abundance,biomass,and diversity indices were assessed.Multivariate analysis was conducted to test for differences in fish assemblages among lakes and between fishing periods.After the implementation of fishing activities,significant reductions in fish species richness,abundance,biomass,and all three life-history strategies(opportunistic,equilibrium,and periodic)were observed in fishing lakes,whereas opposite trends were observed in the reference lake.Compositional similarity of fish assemblages among fishing lakes increased over the threeyear monitoring period.Our results suggest that unselective fishing reduces fish diversity and homogenizes fish assemblage structure in lakes.These findings have important implications for protecting both biodiversity and fisheries in inland waters in China and are applicable to other countries or regions that rely on fish as a major food source.